1.0 Field of the Invention
The invention relates to monitoring and verification systems and, more particularly, to a monitoring and verification system for use in taxi cabs to indicate and/or record a fault with various functions of the taxi cab.
2.0 Description of Related Art
Circuits for monitoring and verifying various signal functions of vehicles, such as turn signals, are well known and some of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,641,490; 4,001,777; 5,057,814; and 5,515,028, all of which are herein incorporated by reference.
Taxi cab businesses are highly regulated enterprises with the specific laws requiring their various signal, status, voice and fare metering facilities to be illuminated and verified at the appropriate time. The statutes require means be provided so that courteous audio messages are given at the start and at the end of each fare. Additionally, emergency flashers, located on the roofs of taxi cabs to indicate if the driver is in trouble should be tested frequently for the driver's safety. Furthermore, statutes also require a seal on the taxi transmission that provides distance traveled data so as to assure proper metering of each fare. Failure to comply with any or all of these requirements exposes the owner of the taxi cab to very high fines. It is desired that a monitoring and verification system be provided that not only assures that the taxi cab meets the various governmental requirements defined by statutes, but also ensures that such a verification be done in an accurate and reliable manner so as to assure the operational readiness of the taxi cab.